Onutė Gražinytė

Born into a family of musicians, Onutė Gražinytė began her musical education at the age of five under the guidance of her pianist mother and conductor father. She began attending the National Čiurlionis School of Arts in Vilnius, Lithuania at the age of six, further developing her musical abilities. In 2015, Onutė continued her studies at the Hanover Academy of Music, Theatre and Media, under the tutelage of Prof. Roland Krüger. In 2021, she continued her education at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin in the class of Prof. Kirill Gerstein. Throughout her musical development, Onutė has had the privilege of being inspired by accomplished pianists such as A. Gavrilov, E. Kupeic, M. Raekallio, J. Lowenthal, R. Brautigam, and S. Kovacevich. Onutė's musical accomplishments were recognized with an award from the President of Lithuania in 2015, acknowledging her contributions to the field both domestically and internationally. That same year, she directed and co-composed music for the annual opera production, which is a tradition at the M. K. Čiurlionis School of Arts. Onutė has performed extensively in Lithuania and abroad, including in countries such as Poland, Switzerland, Germany, France, Estonia, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, among others. She performs from an extensive solo repertoire in addition to regular collaborations with renowned orchestras such as the Klaipėda Chamber Orchestra, Kaunas Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, Alicante Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, National Philharmonic Orchestra of Lyon, and St. Petersburg Chamber Orchestra. The 2023/2024 season anticipates her debuts with Sinfonieorchester Basel, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, as well as Kremerata Baltica in the Moravian Autumn Festival at Brno Philharmonic Hall. In addition to her solo endeavors, Onutė is an enthusiastic chamber musician and enjoys collaborating in a variety of instrumentations. Her recording of Arvo Pärt’s Fratres with cellist and her husband Edward King has received favorable reviews, including this praise from Ivan Moody in Gramophone Magazine (December 2020): “This performance of Fratres... is one of the best I have ever heard, delicately balancing on the tightrope of subtlety and power.” Notable performances include her harpsichord role at the Cologne Philharmonie with Musik21 Niedersachsen in 2017 and concerts at prestigious venues like the Warsaw Philharmonic and the Konzerthaus in Berlin in 2018. She was awarded the Young Artist Prize by the 'International Music Festival (IMf) Buxtehude, Altes Land und Harburg' in March of the same year. In 2020, Onutė collaborated with the Lithuanian National Philharmonic and 'Accentus Music' label (Leipzig) to release a CD featuring the works of Arvo Pärt, titled 'Lamentate.' The album received praise from foreign critics, including a five-star rating in BBC Music magazine, top ratings in 'Pizzicato' (Germany), Diapason d'or, and Diapason d'or Arte (France). Arvo Pärt himself has expressed admiration for Onutė Gražinytė, stating, “[she] is a pianist who, despite her young age, has already achieved remarkable musical maturity. I highly value her musical sensitivity in performing my works on her well-received debut album, Arvo Pärt: Lamentate (Accentus 2020)”.